Title - Assurances fail to stop exodus from Bangalore

The exodus of panic-stricken people of the northeastern states continued on the second day with thousands of them flocking to the Bangalore City station since early morning on Thursday.

In spite of the state government’s desperate attempts to convince people of Assam and other northeast states that the city is safe for them, the numbers swelled at the railway station by the hour.They said they were leaving Bangalore following rumours of a possible attack on the Assamese people living in the city.

Around 6,800 people, mostly from Assam, had left for Guwahati on Wednesday night by two special trains arranged by the railways apart from the Guwahati Express.

Though all Bangalore-Guwahati trains leave only around midnight, many people started rushing to the station from the early hours of the day as they felt safer there rather than at their residence in the city.

Meanwhile, in Hyderabad, amid speculation on possible threat to the people from the northeast, a group of people from that region met the city police commissioner seeking protection.It has been speculated that about 3,000 people from the region have already left Hyderabad.

Karnataka chief minister Jagadish Shettar said the mass exodus of people from Bangalore following rumours is a serious issue. “However, no violent incidents of any sort had been reported,” he said.

“There is nothing to worry. The entire government is with you. We will protect the interests of the northeast people,” Shettar told representatives of organisations of people from the region at his residence.

S Suresh Kumar, minister for law and parliamentary affairs, who was camping at the railway station from morning, kept appealing to Assam-bound people not to leave. “There hasn’t been a single case of assault against anyone from the northeast in the city,” he contended.

The minister said strict action would be taken against any police official found to have spread rumours about possible attacks on people of the northeastern states.

“Yes, I know of two incidents where the police allegedly refused to register complaints from Assamese. I have discussed the issue with the deputy commissioner of police and the inspectors of the police stations concerned. Action would be taken against police officials not cooperating with people from the northeast,” he said.

The minister was confident that the government would thwart untoward incidents, and said the chief minister was planning to rope in prominent leaders from the northeast to appeal to the people not to leave Bangalore. “We are trying our best to convince them not to leave Bangalore. If they insist on going, we will provide them with transport and other facilities, including security,”’ he promised.
—With inputs from DNA
correspondent in Hyderabad